from the Rev. Canon Brian Cole
On Sunday, November 7th and continuing through every Sunday of November, a new round of Welcome Classes to All Souls will be held in the Owen Library. The Welcome Class is a good way to learn about the ministries of All Souls and the particular gifts and ethos of the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Tradition. If you are new to All Souls or know someone who is or someone who is looking for a church home, please make them aware of this offering. We meet during the Church School hour, beginning at 10:10 a.m.
During Lauren Winner’s recent lecture at All Souls for the Zabriskie Learning Series, she mentioned a variety of definitions of home as the word has been defined across time. I was particularly struck by the definition offered in the dictionary that would have been used during the time that Emily Dickinson was living and writing. The primary definition of home in the mid 1800’s was home as “the present state of existence.” Such a definition does not carry all the additional emotional and sentimental layers we have added to the idea of home in more recent decades as we have moved from basic shelter to residences that reflect our personal style or attitude.
For the many people who visit our parish each year, several are searching for home, for a place to be fed and nurtured during this present state of their life. Please keep those searching for home in your prayers. And remember that Lauren Winner also spoke of Emily Dickinson’s quotation that “home is the definition of God.” May none of us, then, be homeless.